Eight Weeks into Living
by Reminiscent
Summary: Axel is your average college student. Roxas is his roommate's best friend with a messed up heart. He has eight weeks.
1. Week One

A/N: Updates on Fridays. Following chapters will be equally short.

**IMPORTANT: **All reviews will be answered on You Tube via video blogs. Refer to my profile for details. Updated on Thursdays.

_Thanks, IcedCandy._

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_**Eight Weeks into Living**_

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_One's birth does not mark the first day of one's life. It is merely the first day of movement._

_The first day of one's live is lived when one realizes that if they'd died before this day,they'd have never lived at all._

_--Leena Radeke

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It was August eleventh that Axel lived the first day of his life. Since childhood, he could see colors like no one else could, in places that made him seem hallucinatory, and he could taste shapes and think in numbers. When **_he _**walked in, he wasn't listening to his roommate's introductions, _Hey, Axel, this is my bestie, Roxas—you in there, buddy?_ but staring into the explosion of silver, red, glitter, like cloud linings, like a soul, like dust in the sun, and as he drowned in **_his _**eyes, not once did he struggle to breathe.

"I like your colors," Axel blurted before he could stop himself. Demyx eyed him suspiciously. The blonde under his arm flushed and dug his fingers into the whites his arms. When his forearms were marked with crimson half moons, he replied

_**Thanks**_.

_Axel, I'm ashamed. You snuck in pills and didn't even share?_

"I'm not—I wasn't—it's just…"

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Standard disclaimers apply.


	2. Week Two

_A/N: Inspi' song: **Paint Me In Your Sunshine by Marie Digby**_

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_**Eight Weeks into Living**_

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_Pray that your loneliness may spur you into finding something to live for,_

_great enough to die for._

_--Dag Hammarskjold (1905 - 1961)_

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_ The second time they met, it was awkward, nervous, and mutual._

**_Hey, Axel, right? I'm Roxas._** They shook hands. **_Did you, um, eat yet?_**

"No, I was just heading to the cafeteria to grab something." Roxas's hand was small in comparison to Axel's, and he felt if he gripped any tighter, Roxas's bones would snap.

**_Well, if you wouldn't mind, we can go get lunch together. My treat_**. Today there was a little more glitter, and Axel watched as he sparkled in the sun, choking on a triangle.

"Sure. That'd be great."

Afterwards, Axel was late to lectures, but he didn't really mind because when they'd embraced, with Roxas's arms around him, his breath on Axel's neck, it'd felt like eleven, like seventeen, and despite the fact that he had no idea what the combination was supposed to be, it felt good and right, and **_Roxas, Roxas, Roxas,_** and he didn't want it any other way.

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**Added because I feel awful for screwing up the first chapter 5 kajillion times. Ch. Three still scheduled for Fri. Check out video blog for replies to (any) reviews.**

Standard disclaimers apply.


	3. Week Three

_A/N: Inspi' song: **Left Behind by Aqualung**_

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_**Eight Weeks into Living**_

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_Life is a foreign language; all men mispronounce it._

_--Cristopher Morley (1890 - 1957)_

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The third time they met, it was secret, quiet, and confessional.

**_How long have you know Demyx_**? They were out in the courtyard, bare toes and fingers laced in the cool grass.

"Since I came to the uni. What about you?" Roxas leaned back on his arms and smiled at the sky.

**_I met him in tenth grade. You know that stupid hairdo he's got? I thought it was the tightest thing ever._** They laughed until he glanced at Axel from the corner of his eyes, concentrated soul-blue. **_It's funny, though, how he doesn't really know me._**

"He thinks I'm a constant junky."

**_But you're not._**

"And neither are you." Then his arms are full of Roxas, and he was breathing, and whispering in Axel's ear, **_Can you keep a secret?_**

After that "Axel"**_Roxas_** was **_Roxas's_**"Axel's".

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**Video blogs up on Thursdays with replies to your reviews. See profile for details.**

Standard disclaimers apply.


	4. Week Four

_A/N: Inspi' song: **I Hate This Part by PCD**_

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_**Eight Weeks into Living**_

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_Death can sneak up on you like a silent kitten, suprising you with its touch and you have a _

_right to act surprised. Other times death stomps in the front door, unwanted and unannounced,_

_and makes it's noisy way to your seat on the sofa."_

_--Hugh Elliott, Bible Versus, 11-27-08_

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That night, Axel visited WebMedic in search of Roxas's secret, and then he wanted to take everything back.

_"Ward-Romano Syndrome: a condition causing a disruption of the heart's normal rhythm. The irregular heartbeats can lead to fainting/cardiac arrest/sudden death."_

Roxas was a ticking time bomb, counting down to the last moment of his life, and there was nothing to stop it. Axel was angry, like green.

"You didn't tell me you were dying."

**_I'm not dying._**

"But any second--any moment--even in your sleep..."

**_You think I'm not afraid?_**

"But aren't you at least doing anything for it? Like--like getting a pace maker, or medication, or something? Anything?"

_**Where do you think the funds will come for that?**_

"I can try to, I don't know, raise money, or..."

_**And what do we do when Demyx finds out?**_

"I don't see why we're keeping it a secret to begin with!"

_**He'll never be able to understand!**_

"You're rotting away!" Roxas stopped at that, confused with a sort of hurt look on his face, soul-blue flaring up as dust-glitter settled and cloud-silver seethed.

**_What are you talking about?_**

"You keep going like this, keep rotting away, and it's like your insides are charred and black, and it's oozing and sliding off your body until all that's left of you is a trail of muddied lies because that's why you're rotting anyways: with that stupid fake smile and your guarded eyes, even you've stopped believing our own words..."

_**Just stop!**_ Then he was grey, like one and three, like a bitter ellipse pressed to Axel's gums, and Roxas's eyes were determined, his jaw set, and he said **_Just let it be._**

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_Updated Thursday for lack of video blog. Blog up by Friday. Check for your reviews._

Standard disclaimers apply.


	5. Week Five

_A/N: **Inspi'song - Always by blink-182**_

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_**Eight Weeks into Living**  


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_Death is nothing to us, since when we are, death has not come,_

_and when death has come, we are not._

_--Epicurus, 341 BC-270 BC

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At that moment, it made everything all right because it meant that it was the way it was meant to be. Roxas liked those words, _Just let it be_, and as the sickness ravaged his body with seizures and cardiac arrests and fainting and irregular heart beats, Axel died with him. Like twelve, like nine, he died with him.

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Check for replies to **your** reviews on my video blog! It's the only place you'll find them!! See fanfiction account for details!!! Golly gee willikerz, Bat Man!!!!

_Standard disclaimers apply._


	6. Week Six

_A/N: **Inspi'song - At the Bottom of Everything by Bright Eyes**_

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_**Eight Weeks into Living**_

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_The average man, who does not know what to do with his life,_

_wants another one which will last forever._

_--Anatole France (1844-1924)

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Demyx elbowed Axel hard in the side when he came back from the courtyard after lunch with Roxas.

_So, you dog,_ Demyx said, waggling his eyebrows suggestively, _Stole my Roxas, did you?_

"I didn't steal him, you were just friends."

_He never hangs out with me anymore._ He didn't want to talk to Demyx. It was too easy to want to just spill everything to the boy, tell him about his colorful world, tell him about Roxas, tell him there wasn't much time, but he didn't. Like a milk carton against his teeth, his voice stopped working, and he kept his silence.

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Check for replies to **your **reviews on my video blog! It's the only place you'll find them!! See fanfiction account for details!!! Golly gee willikerz, Bat Man!!!!

_Standard disclaimers apply._


	7. Week Seven

_A/N: **Inspi'song - This Is Who We Are by Hawthorne Heights**_

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_**Eight Weeks into Living**_

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_I hope the leaving is joyful; and I hope never to return._

_--Frida Kahlo (1907 - 1954)

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_**The key is to be okay with it**_, Roxas told him as they walked hand in hand, _**After a while, the paranoia goes away and every day is the last day. You make peace with your demons**_**.**

"So…it gets easier?" Roxas nodded, his yellow hair flashing silver cloud linings.

_**If you think about it, we're lucky. At least we know the end of the universe is upon us. At least we don't have to wake up and wonder if there's going to be an accident, like a murder or a car crash—**_

"I don't think murder is an accident…"

_**—Because we already know. I kind of like that.**_

"It's morbid to think like that." Roxas laughed, all glitter dust in the sun.

_**Would you have me any other way?**_ Axel could never argue with that. He liked the color of Roxas's morbid humor anyways.

Like purple waves and a square on his tongue.

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Check for replies to **your **reviews on my video blog! It's the only place you'll find them!! See fanfiction account for details!!! Golly gee willikerz, Bat Man!!!!

_**PLUS I NOW HAVE A TWITTER! HOLY GOD!! IT'S ReminiscentBam!!! CHRIST!!**_

_Standard disclaimers apply._


	8. Week Eight

_A/N:_** _First Day of My Life by Bright Eyes_**

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**_Eight Weeks into Living_**

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_Seek not, my soul, the life of the immortals;_

_but enjoy to the full the resources that are whithin thy reach._

_--Pindar (522 BC - 443 BC), 518-438 BC

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The first mention of a bucket list brought a sense of offense with it.

_**Why do I need a bucket list? I'm not dying, Axel, it's just a side effect.**_

"The hell kind of side effect is _sudden death?_"

_**The kind that I'm not going to let bear me down. That kind.**_ Roxas sighed. _**In the long run, we're all dead.**_ Axel ignored the last part.

"I was just wondering. I mean, if there's something out of the ordinary you want to do, let's do it. No time like the present, right?"

But Axel noticed that Roxas was tired more often; that he was apprehensive, too; that it _was_ bearing him down. He never wanted anything more than a day in the park, an afternoon in the arcade, a lazy evening on the couch, but Axel appreciated the rhythm, no matter how irregular, of Roxas's breathing when he was spread across his body in front of the television more than the day before. It was like eleven, like seventeen, and he came to the knowing that it could mean nothing else but love.

He _loved_ him.

_**I'm glad I didn't die before I met you.**_

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Check for replies to your reviews on my video blog! It's the only place you'll find them!! See fanfiction account for details!!! Golly gee willikerz, Bat Man!!!!

Standard disclaimers apply.


	9. Week Nine p1

_A/N: **Inspi'song: A Modern Myth by 30 Seconds to Mars**_

_Part one of Week Nine out of two._

_**Early because...well.**_

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_**Eight Weeks into Living**_

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_The soul...is immortal and imperishable._

_--Plato (427 BC - 347 BC), **The Republic**_

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In the end, he stopped. Like white, like twenty-three, like gold, like five, like a die shoved in his throat, he stopped.

Axel woke up, reached over for him, and found nothing. There were his white arms, his yellow hair, his lashes resting against his pale cheeks, but there was no color.

"Rox?"

No soul-red.

"Roxas?" Axel's fingers shook as they touched cold skin.

No glitter as the sun slid through the shades.

"Wake up." His voice broke.

No silver.

"Where did you're colors go, Roxas?"

That wasn't Roxas. Axel trembling hand shook a stiff cold arm.

"Where did they go?"

It was a shell. Axel swallowed hard.

"Wake up," he said, throat closing, chest aching.

Roxas wasn't there.

"_Rox_?"

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_And thus, it ends._


	10. Week Nine p2

_A/N: **Inspi'song - Last Thing on Your Mind by LIGHTS**_

_Part two of Week Nine out of two.

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_**Eight Weeks into Living**_

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_Don't think to hard if you think it hurts that bad. Don't talk about it. _

_Sing the last thing on your mind, the last word on your breath..._

_I'll be the one to keep you one disaster less._

_--Valerie Poxleitner (1987 - ), **Last thing on Your Mind

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_What happened? Why did he—what—did you know about this?_ Demyx's hands were tight around his collar, shaking him, demanding for answers, why, why, why wasn't Roxas there?

"He was sick."

_Sick, my ass! He was never sick! I would have known!_ Axel detached himself and brought his eyes to Demyx's level.

"You know, the first day of my life was when he walked in."

_What are you talking about?_

"He didn't want you to know." He looked away. "In the long run, we're all dead."

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And now I just feel like crying.


	11. Week Ten

_A/N: **Inspi'song - Jess Loves Jonny by LIGHTS (**again, yes, I know**)**_

_Disclaimer: If I had it my way, not only would Kingdom Hearts be nothing but shameless Akuroku smut, but the above song would be renamed '**Ax Loves Roxie**' because we all know that'd make it a **real** song._

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_**Also, you can now check me out at Twitter: ReminiscentBAM.**  
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_And yes, it hasn't ended yet. I'm aware._

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_**Eight Weeks into Living**_

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_Life isn't fair. It's just fairer than death, that's all._

_--William Goldman_

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Demyx laid a hand on his friend's shoulder, the felt of the heavy wool blazer the color of death rough beneath his fingers.

_You going to be okay?_ Axel glanced up at the man beside him, and then returned his gaze back to his folded fingers as he leaned his forearms against his knees, dampened lashes sticking together over his tired eyes.

"Yeah. I'll make it."

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_Check for replies to **your **reviews on my video blog! It's the **only **place you'll find them!! See **my **fanfiction account for details!!! Golly gee **willikerz**, Bat Man!!!!_

Standard disclaimers apply.


	12. Week Fifteen

_A/N: **Inspi'song - Her Morning Elegance by Oren Lavie**_

Axel's new thang can be a choice of

a.) OC, **OR**

b.) Tifa. AkuFa ain't all that bad, guys. Check out Nijuuni's stuff. Pretty sexay...

Whichever.

Mih.

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_**Eight Weeks into Living**_

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She was nothing like Roxas: dark, tall, and enchanting, her eyes an alluring shade of exotic grey. She laughed louder than Roxas, cried harder than Roxas, clung closer to Axel than Roxas, even when Roxas had been on his death bed. She didn't glitter the way Roxas had, but still shone brightly enought the way she was for Axel to notice.

He found it hard not to notice, really.

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_Check for replies to **your **reviews on my video blog! It's the **only **place you'll find them!! See **my **fanfiction account for details!!! Golly gee **willikerz**, Bat Man!!!!_

Standard disclaimers apply.


	13. Week Sixty Two

_A/N: **Inspi'song: Unbreakable **_by **Fireflight**

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_**Eight Weeks into Living**_

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When Axel returned to the place where Roxas slept, below his feet like a spirit of the earth, he was not alone. The colors, shapes, and numbers had faded from him the night Roxas had disappeared, and had been gone too long for him to remember what it was liked to have them in the first place. A dark, tall, grey-eyed enchantress stood with him, her fingers loosely laced between his, allowing him to feel, suffer, know whatever he needed, standing next to him in complete silence as he knelt down and spoke.

"Bye, Roxas."

He did not return.

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**Video blog, Twitter, you know the drill. See account for details.**

Standard disclaimers apply.


	14. Week Two Hundred Eighteen

_A/N: **Inspi'song - Flicker Damn Keep It **_by **Kuroda**

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_**Eight Weeks into Living**_

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Axel sweated hard in his tux. He wanted to loosen his tie, fidget with his cufflinks, but he ordered himself to stand still. This was the biggest moment of his life, he'd be lying if he said he wasn't scared out of his wits, but he was sure, and he stood resolute, steadfast, as a woman in white rounded the corner, walking slowly but surely toward him. He couldn't stop a smile from spreading across his face. She, his wife, the one Axel was ready to devote the rest of his life, had never looked so breathtakingly beautiful, as dark, tall, enchanting, and grey-eyed as the day he'd met her.

A flash of cloud lining silver caught his eye; suddenly he was searching the pews, looking, looking, looking for the colors he'd lost since **_him_**, **_Roxas_**, had stopped--

Nothing but a refleciton off of an aunt's brooch. Exhaling, Axel looked up, took the hand of his bride, and

**_Roxas  
breathed.  
Roxas_**

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